I’m not sure whether my ear infection was returning before I did the stint at KellerFest last weekend or if all the time spent in the heat took its toll.  But by the end of the day Saturday I had decided that I was going to try to finagle my way in to see a doctor (I didn’t care which one at this point) on Monday.  As luck would have it, the office had changed hours so that they’re open from 7:00am to 7:00pm and they now take walk-ins (which is completely new since I was there two weeks ago).  So instead of waiting around all day for an opening I was pleasantly surprised to be seen almost right away by my doctor who took a look and confirmed that my ears were indeed full of crap (not her exact words…).  Not that I really needed a professional opinion to know that my head is full of crap, though… 

While she gave me a prescription for a more powerful antibiotic, she also thought it possible I may have a problem with my eustachian tubes.  I’ve always had trouble with pressure equalization and getting the water to drain out after swimming.  I recall a couple of flights where my ears never would equalize.  It wasn’t really painful, just annoying, as all I could hear was a general roaring sound.  All I could tell during the pilot’s announcements were that someone was talking, but not what was being said.  So, should the antibiotics fail to do the trick, I’ve got a prescription for a course of steroids. 

If the antibiotics don’t clear up the problem I will have to start the steroids next week while I’m in Boulder, CO.  The Omnicef has helped quite a bit more than the first round of Amoxicillin, and some of the pressure is gone, but not all of it.  I’m driving up there, so it won’t be quite as bad as flying (I’m told that airplanes maintain pressure equivalency of about 8,000 ft.), but still, I can’t imagine the difference in altitude helping with the pressure in my ears. 

Anyhow…  I’m going to be leaving tomorrow and won’t be back until the 18th.  This means the current lame level of service will continue.